Praise
the Lord! Over the last month, God has been doing so much in my life,
both inward and outward. In my personal life, He has been digging
deep into core issues of my life to bring change in my relationship
with Him. In my interpersonal life, He has been doing the same,
bringing me closer to those around me. In serving Him, He has been
working on my behalf in others' lives.
In my
personal life, as I said, the Lord has been graciously digging into
areas of my heart, such as pride of my own abilities. As I went to
the beach one day, with some pastors from the U.S., I thought that I
had no need for wearing sandals. It turned out that I did need them,
after showing the blisters on the bottom of my feet to them. It was
then that I told them, you can start calling me “tenderfoot” -
which had more than a meaning for the blisters alone, but for my
service here abroad also. He has been revealing areas where I have
become judgmental toward others, and is still working that one out as
needed, that His grace and compassion can come instead. The Lord has
also been speaking to me in my quiet times, and drawing me closer to
Himself, giving me good “nuggets” to chew on throughout each day.
In my
interpersonal life, He has been working to draw me closer to those
around me, even if they are only here for a short time. Last month we
had a visitor from Australia, who was here for a short time on my
last trip as well. The first day we had an argument over whether a
cat would be allowed inside the pastor's house or not. I struggled
for a few days to get over that, and asked the Lord to help me love
her the way she needed it. Although there were a few disruptions to
peace after that, by the end of the trip, she told me she'd felt like
we'd become good friends. So praise God for His love being received!
At times, as I've gotten a little prideful in the way things are
accomplished back home, the Lord has come in to humble me in those
circumstances as well. I have been learning a little about mutual
submission in the fear of God. Many times I have had to give up or
let go of my own thinking to embrace how things go here. Getting to
drive some of the vehicles helps with this, as I definitely have to
let go of rigid driving rules and regulations from the states when I
do. But still, God has been faithful to build my relationships here,
with the nationals, and with people internationally. As we have had
visitors from both Australia and the U.S., it is an honor and
priviledge to have visited with them and learned things from them as
well, both natural wisdom and spiritual wisdom. I thank God for Jean
and Paul from Australia, and Rob and Danny from the U.S. (who came to
visit for the pastors' conference).
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| Pastor Danny |
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| Pastor Rob |
As
far as reaching out is concerned, serving God this last month here
has been a lot of fun. In church I have seen Him move powerfully on
others' behalf, bringing healing to physical bodies, as well as
relationships, as one couple from the church is learning how to care
for one another through prayer. In one instance, Shanti was healed by
the Lord through her own husband, as she submitted to his authority,
and he submitted to Christ's authority to heal her. It was such a
blessing to see Sam pray for Shanti and encouraging to see God heal
her physical body in that prayer. In the orphanage we saw Jesus work
in Kumar the cook's life. As he has struggled being there, one night
he wanted to quit and walk out. Yet the Lord worked on his heart and
he's still there – looking a lot happier as well! Praise God! At
the pastor's conference the Lord equipped the pastors to build their
congregations in powerful evangelism. At night as there was a 75-year
celebration of the church building's existence, God moved in power
there as well. He brought many people to salvation through messages
of the gospel and healed people as well, helping them come to Him
alone for their needs! In these conferences and outreaches, my main
goal was to bless the visiting pastors, and help them feel welcomed.
Of which, Danny(one of the pastors) wrote that I was a blessing, so I
praise God for His work!
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| Jaiprakash's mom |
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| Boys from the orphanage who scored in the top 10 of their class |
I am
thankful to the Lord for His grace and activity in my life, working
both inward and outward. I am thankful for His transformational power
at work in me, improving my image of Him, as He improves my image in
Christ. I am thankful He is teaching me both how to give His love to
others, and how to receive it from them as well. And I am thankful to
have the opportunity to be here in His service, seeing Him move
powerfully and love on others Himself. Lastly, though not of last
importance, I am thankful for you. Without you listening, hearing and
responding to God, I wouldn't be here. I am thankful for every prayer
you have prayed, every email, phone call, facebook posting, and cent
you have given toward me being able to serve our Lord Jesus here in
India. I pray you are blessed and receive fruit not only in heaven
but also here on earth as well, for all of your contributions to the
work here.
Below
are some of the results of your supplication(s) last month, as well
as prayer needs for this coming month.
Praise
reports:
- The pastors'conference was a huge blessing to the pastors as well as myself
- God supplied all of the finances, support, volunteers, and attendees to make it successful
- People were healed, saved, and delivered at Solomon's dad's church who had their 75th anniversary celebration with outreaches at night
- I am being blessed by getting to meet new people and see others I've known from here and from the U.S.
- I have received $205 dollars out of $6000 for my next trip
Prayer
requests:
- Refreshment and renewal for myself, Solomon and family, and the believers here at Lighthouse
- Kids who come to VBS to receive all that God has for them, in Ponmar and then in Pammal
- Pastors who attended the conference to use the tools they were given to bless and reach out for the Kingdom of God
- Finances for next trip to come in
Once
again thank you for all you do!
God
bless you!
Justin